Star Wars: Strike Team Australis
by ImaginativePantoranFangirl
Summary: A long time ago in a galaxy far far away... The fledgling Rebel Alliance is slowly growing, despite the constant threats of the Empire. Among the members of the Rebellion, four rebels cross paths, and unite as one team to fight off enemies both old and new. The adventure starts now!(Disclaimer:I do not own Star Wars except my own ocs.)
1. Welcome to the Rebellion

(2 BBY)  
A blue-skinned Pantoran girl walked down the ramp of a white spherical ship, followed by a metallic grey, white, and red astromech droid propelled by one large rocket blaster at its base.

Looking at the rebel base among the lush forests of Yavin 4 ,Charm'aine Huong smiled.

"This is it, UL," She told her droid while putting her luggage on the ground.

《Do you even know where to register?》UL snarked, earning an annoyed expression from Charm'aine."

"You really know how to spoil the mood," she sighed. "I'll figure it out. I can ask, can't I?"

Just then, Charm'aine felt something bump into her, but it wasn't enough to push her onto the floor.

"Oh! I'm really sorry!"Charm'aine looked down to see a short girl wearing a simple bluish-grey Mandalorian armor, with a bright gold stripe across her chest. She was holding a bluish-grey Mando helmet, patterened with two metallic indigo stripes across the T-shaped visor.

"I didn't see you...I didn't mean it!" She said frantically, looking back up at Charm'aine while tucking her dark hair behind her ears with her free hand.

"It's okay," Charm'aine reassured, smiling. "Are you here to join the rebellion?"

"Yeah!" She exclaimed excitedly. "I hate the Empire's guts, of course, but I've always wanted to pilot an X-wing fighter!"

Charm'aine grew curious. "Have you piloted anything else?"

"Well...some speeder bikes, stolen TIE fighters,and the training jets at the imperial academy I used to attend. That was actually the only thing I was good at." She stopped, looking embarassed. "I must have been rambling..."

Charm'aine had wanted to ask further, but she decided that now was not the time, and she shrugged instead.

"No, thats awesome! What's your name?

"I'm Kummi Zhan!" The girl said, grinning back at her. "What's yours?"

"Charm'aine Huong, but you can call me Charmy. Oh, and by the way, do you have any idea where to register?"

"Kummi shrugged. "No idea. I just got here a few minutes before..."

"What's in that?" The curious Mandalorian asked, while pointing to the bag at Charmy's feet.

"Oh this?" Charmy gestured to her sandy-brown pullstring bag that was her luggage. She opened it, revealing a middle-sized cardboard box and an indigo-blue toolbox that glinted and violet and blue in the afternoon sunlight.

"Just my stuff. Neccessities and tools mostly."

《Hey, hey!》UL, who had been overhearing the whole conversation, rushed in front of Charmy.

《You just knew her! What if she has bad intentions! What if she steals your stuff? You know how cun-》

"Sorry Kummi," Charmy explained while pushing UL away with her palm, covering half of his domed cap. "He's just my overprotective droid, U5-L1. I call him UL for short."

《I'm ! Not ! PROTECTIVE!》UL warbled loudly, which caused some rebels walking around the base to look at them.

"Just great. Now you've done it, you piece of scrap metal." Charmy rolled her eyes, glaring at her annoyingly hotheaded droid buddy she'd had since she was six. They were so close that they shared a sort of brother-sister bond. Still, she couldn't stand him sometimes

Then, seeing a female Togruta in rebel clothing walk towards them, Charmy and Kummi exchanged anxious glances.

"What are you two doing here?" The Togruta questioned, sounding slightly suspiscious. Kummi gulped at the sight of the Togruta. She had been told tales about just how ferocious Togruta can be, with their sharp senses, killer instinct, and their skills as hunters. She had heard that some of the most fierce males could rival the strongest Mandos in a fight.

Charmy took a deep breath, and looked straight at her eyes.

The dark eyes of the Rebel Togruta were not cold or stern. Rather, they seemed to be bright, strong, and filled with confidence. Charmy swore that she saw some tiny gold flecks in them.

"We are here to join the Rebellion," She stated as calmly as possible. "However, we are not sure where to register."

The corners of the Rebel's mouth went up in a smirk."I hope you two know what you are doing," She deadpanned. "But follow me. The Princess will see you now."

Charmy and Kummi exchanged astonished glances. The Princess? Leia Organa-in the flesh? Now?"She has not much matters to attend to today."

Both rebel wannabes nodded nervously, then followed, almost reluctantly, the Togruta rebel to the Princess's chamber, UL hovering silently behind them.

* * *

"When did you join the Rebellion?"

The Togruta gave Charmy the tiniest glance.

"About a year ago." She replied with her back facing them.

Charmy nodded slightly, resisting the urge for the word _why_ to escape her lips. She didn't want to force her to divulge her private feelings to a curious stranger.

Then, the Togruta rebel suddenly looked over her shoulder, peering at Kummi.

"I thought Mandalorians never take their helmets off," she remarked. Kummi responded with a frown.

"I never really use it except in battle," She explained. "It can get really hot in here sometimes..."

The Togruta suddenly stopped at an elegantly decorated door.

"We're here." She stated plainly, seemingly ignoring Kummi's complaint.

"The moment they stepped in the Princess's chamber, Both Charmy and Kummi couldn't help but gasp.

Princess Leia Organa herself was sitting on a throne-like chair, smiling slightly with the sight of the Togruta. A regal, strong aura resonated off her, and neither wannabe rebel could really look her in the eye. Charmy thought that she looked like a white female lion.

"Kona Rys, I see you have brought two guests here," Her voice was a river floating with white lilies: deep, yet beautiful.

"They claim to be rebel volunteers, your majesty." The Togruta, Kona Rys, dipped her head modestly.

"Good. Thank you, Kona. You can leave us for a moment." She instructed. Kona gave a slight bow, then walked out of the room.

"Step forward, young volunteers."

Charmy and Kummi exchanged looks, then gingerly stepped closer towards the leader of the Rebel Alliance.

"What are your names?" She asked, her voice friendly and gentle, but never losing its formality.

"Charm'aine Huong, your majesty. And this is U5-L1, my droid. I'm a mechanic , and droids are my speciality. "Charmy gave a formal introduction of herself and UL while giving a slight bow, UL dipping his body.

"K-Kummi Zh-Zhan of Man-Mandalore..."Kummi stuttered, while fidgeting anxiously. She looked as she was about to cry. Seeing this, Charmy put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"She's a pilot. And a really good one." She smiled confidently at the Princess. Kummi gave Charmy's hand a grateful squeeze.

The Princess smiled wider. "The Rebellion would be honored to have both of you here. Here are your holomaps-" she stood up and offered Charmy and Kummi one disk-like object."You can find the mechanics and pilot quarters using those. Thank you for choosing the right side, and welcome to the Rebellion." She smiled sincerely at the girls. "Go and settle down, make yourself at home. You may leave to your quarters."

Both newly ainonted rebels took the holomaps, bowed, and left the room.

* * *

"Thanks for helping me out," Kummi grinned at Charmy gratefully. Then her voice went somber."But I gotta get my luggage now. See you later." She started walking away, when Charmy called after her.

"Hey, I can go with you!"

"No thanks, I can manage."She gave Charmy one last longing glance Then she walked away, Charmy frowning while watching her go.

* * *

The mechanics' barracks was bustling with noise.

The mechanics were chatting everywhere, from sitting cross-legged on their double decker beds to standing around in the hallway. All of them had some sort of tool, or a gadget they were either tinkering with or fixing. Or both of the above.

Charmy suddenly felt small. She obviously wasn't the best droid mechanic here, let alone the best mechanic. She doubted that she would make any friends.

 _At least I have Kummi,_ she thought.

《You aren't backing out now, are you?》UL bleeped, with slight concern in his tone. He knew what Charmy was worried about .

"No. Definitely not." Charmy said determinedly.

Then, a girl with pale milky grey skin and dark purple hair seemed to have heard UL's bleeps, and walked down the metal stairs at the other end of her bed.

"Where did you get him?" The girl asked, her pink-red eyes peering at them curiously.

Charmy was momentarily surprised, by both the fact that the girl knew that UL was a he, and that she actually noticed her at all.

"I, uh, picked him up on a battlefield,back home on Pantora,"Charmy explained, a satisfied smile forming on her lips."He was all battered and damaged, so I took him back home and fixed him up a little. His name's UL."

"So you're a droid mech? I'm one too!" She replied excitedly, just as a small R2 model rolled up to her, hiding behind her legs and beeping softly.

"This is my droid, Roxy," she grinned as she gave the white-and-purple domed cap of her droid affecionate pats. "She's just a bit shy. Whats your name?"

"Charm'aine, but most people call me Charmy. What's yours?" Charmy grinned at the girl, who grinned back at her.

"I'm Yu'uki Kono, but call me Yuu!" She took Charmy's hand. "I'll bring you to meet the others!"

"Are there any droid mechanics here except you?" Charmy asked, slightly worried.

"Oh, trust me, the number of droid mechs are no less than any other mechanic. We even have our own bed sector! Now come on!"

Charmy followed her, feeling giddier than ever.

One thing's for certain: she was definitely going to love it here.

* * *

Kummi felt slightly lonely without Charmy beside her.

She had quite a few friends back on Mandalore. When she left for the Imperial Academy, some of her friends went with her, and she also met quite a lot of new group spent their free time soaring freely through the sky in rented jets every day, and they often lost track of time.

Sometimes Kummi would give anything to go back to those times.

The black-haired Mandalorian girl shook her head vigorously to shake off her nostalagia. Rebelling was her own choice, and she would never regret it.

She cleared her throat at the door of the pilot's quarters.

"Hi, I'm new around here, and I would like to know where to-"

"What do you want, Mandalorian?" One of the pilots demanded harshly. Kummi was horrified. "I-I was just trying to-"

"Leave!"

"You don't belong here, you bloodthirsty monster!"

"Hey, what's going on?" said a tall man with dark skin who had just arrived at the scene of the riot. He wore a classic orange pilots' uniform.

"Sir, Princess Leia has cleared my access to join the Rebellion as a pilot." Kummi explained, her voice thick, as if she had caught a cold.

"Well then follow me to your room, Mandalorian." The man stated, frowning. "Your jet will be given to you later."

Kummi dipped her head as she walked, doing her best to block out the other pilots' jeers, hoping no one would see her crying.

* * *

The canteen at the rebel base on Yavin 4 was apparently packed with people.

Rebels of every species were eating dinner while completely immersed in the conversation going on at their own tables.

A brown-robed Alderaanian girl passed Charmy's table, just as Yuu was telling a story about how she and Roxy barely escaped the clutches of the Empire.

"...As those droids were advancing on me, I thought that I was going to die for sure! But then Roxy sent out this electric pulse that disabled all the droids!"

The droid mechs whooped and cheered at that, with UL cheering the hardest. Roxy bleeped modestly, accepting the praise.

《I like her,》UL blooped dreamily to Charmy. Then noticing that her attention was elsewhere, he bleeped louder to call her.《Hey! Are you okay?》

"I'm fine," Charmy freplied halfheartedly, then she stood up. "Excuse me for a moment, guys."

Charmy walked over to the table where she saw Kummi sitting by herself, her head buried in her arms.

"Hey," Charmy wrapped her arm around Kummi. "What is it?"

"Go away." Kummi brushed Charmy's arm away. "I'm sure you hate me, like the rest of the people here."

Charmy gasped. "What makes you think that? Of course I like you!"

Kummi shook her head. "You don't have to force yourself to like me, a bloodthirsty Mandalorian." She looked up and gave the Pantoran a joyless smile.

"You're _not_ bloodthirsty!" Charmy exclaimed."Who the kriff said that?"

"The pilots here have a bad history with the Mandos. It's no wonder this happened."

Charmy turned to the source of the voice to see Kona Rys sitting on the other side of Kummi.

"I'll confront those pilots. You be there for your friend." Kona advised.

"Th-thank you, Ma'am," Kummi mumbled, then burst into tears.

Charmy held Kummi's head close to her chest while smiliing at Kona.

"Thanks ma'am, really."

"Call me Kona," The Togruta rebel returned the gesture, and stood up."I have some lecturing to do."

As Charmy watched her go while comforting Kummi, a thought sprang to her mind.

 _Why do I feel like this is the beginning of something...awesome?_

* * *

 **Hi readers! This is Charmy here! If you are reading this, thank you SO SO much for reading my story!**

 **This story will mainly be OC-centric, and I know this may turn some readers off because they may see this as a Mary Sue story.**

 **Feel free to offer comments and criticism about my story, because these helps me grow as a writer so THANK YOU SO MUCH for those who plan to comment or has already commented!**

 **Until next time everyone!**

 **(P.S: Spot the SAO 2 reference, and comment in this chapter's review section, and you will have a mystery prize!)**


	2. Some Assembly Required

"You called, Your Highness?"

Princess Leia smiled at Kona Rys walked in to her quarters. Since she had found the teenage Togruta on Shili during a mission, Kona has been one of the most loyal Rebels ever in the alliance. Due to the fact that had been successful at almost every mission that have been given to her, no matter how lethal or strange it is, even some of the male rebels would treat her with great respect, even though she had only joined the Alliance for a year.

However, there was one thing that Kona had never tried : Despite her possibility as the leader of a strike team, she had never been part of on, let alone led one. Leia had thought it was time to assign a team for her to lead.

Well, it was actually her instinct that told her so. And Leia had always went with that on most things. It works every time.

"Yes, Kona. I would like you to lead a small strike team of rebels."

Kona stiffened visibly. She had never liked working with teams...especially after what happened on her home planet.

Leia noticed Kona's expression and immediately regretted her decision. Nevertheless, Kona nodded.

"Who are the members, and how many members could be chosen?" She asked, almost shakily.

"Both of that is for you to decide. And when you have the team members list, inform me so I can send your team on your first mission." Leia informed the Togruta. "...And you can decline this mission," she added thoughtfully, silently hoping that Kona would choose not to accept. Yet Kona nodded.

"I can handle this, Your Highness." She insisted. Even it was something she never wanted to do, she won't refuse to execute any mission. Not even this one.

"...You may leave."Leia sighed. "Remember, this mission is _optional_."

Kona gave her one last confident smile(though it seemed tighter than usual) and walked out of the room.

* * *

"Seriously? They actually said that? What a bunch of jerks."

Yuu remarked with disgust as Charmy told her and the rest of the table about Kummi's situation.

"I never thought interplanetary racism existed at all, let alone at this very base," Charmy sighed.

"I'd like to smack some sense into those pilots,"growled a boy from Lothal with fire-red hair. He raised his fist angrily at the pilots' tables.

"Kai, chill," Yuu rolled her eyes at the impulsive Lothalian droid mechanic. "That's not going to help with anything."

The Kage turned to Kummi, who was sitting opposite to her, and smiled reassuringly at the Mandalorian girl.

"Don't worry. We'll help you settle in."

Kummi smiled back. After a rough start in the pilots' quarters, things are certainly changing for the better, though it still made her shudder as she remembered the pilots' comments.

"It's not interplanetary racism, just prejudice."

Charmy and the rest of the table turned around to see Kona walking up to them.

《Geez, does she always have to appear out of nowhere?》

Charmy frowned, not just because of the comment UL made, but because she thought she saw some discomfort in Kona's eyes.

 _It must have_ _just been my overly imaginative tendencies playing tricks on me,_ she assumed.

"May I have a word with Charm'aine and Kummi please?"

The two rebel rookies exchanged looks, then nodded and followed Kona to a corner where they could discuss privately.

* * *

"So, what is it?"

Charmy inquired, leaning against a wall. Beside her, Kummi was shifting her weight from foot to foot, looking a bit uneasy due to the result of their first meeting.

"Here's the thing," Kona explained, pausing a moment to look from Charmy to Kummi to make sure they were listening. They were looking at her warily, but expectantly. "I'm putting together a small rebel strike team, and I was wondering if you two might be interested."

Both girls' eyes widened slightly. "B-But we don't have much fighting skills, let alone any experience in the battlefield!"Kummi exclaimed, straightening at once.

"Maybe some more experienced rebels will be more qualified for the team," Charmy agreed slightly, though she had to admit she was interested.

"Well, some people have hidden skills or instincts that will only appear during battle," Kona encouraged with a smirk. "You'll do fine."

Charmy and Kummi both considered the offer. For starters,being part of a team could be fun. And both of them had always wanted to belong somewhere, after their rather rough times among peer groups.

After several awkward moments of silence, Charmy smiled at the Togruta female standing opposite to her. "I'm in," she announced. "Anything to help with the cause." _Though I might not be of much help,_ Charmy added silently, thinking back to her clumsy habits of constantly forgetting things and making everything worse during group projects back at school. A wave of homesickness suddenly hit her.

 _I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing..._

"Well then I'm in too, I guess," Kummi piped up. "I've always been craving action for some time."

Both Charmy and Kona raised an eyebrow at their Mandalorian comrade.

"...And flying X-wings." she added with a sheepish smile, which induced light chuckles from the other two rebels standing with her.

"I'll tell Her Majesty that the team members are set. Meanwhile you two chill for a while." She turned to walk towards Princess Leia's quarters, when Charmy put her hand on Kona's shoulder.

"Thanks for giving us this opportunity ," She gave Kona a grateful smile, which the other rebel returned.

"Thanks for joining our alliance."

* * *

Charmy slid back to seat, only to see UL finishing a conversation with Yuu's droid, Roxy.

"How's your first conversation with your crush?" She teased her droid friend as he hovered over, seeming a bit unsteady.

《Oh shut _up._ 》UL warbled, trying to cover up the dreaminess in his bleeps, but failing.

"Alright, Mr. Lovesick droid." Charmy rolled her eyes. If UL were a living species, he would have been blushing _HARD_.

"What was that about with that Togruta?" Yuu mumbled between bites of her breakfast.

"We've been given some special assignment," Kummi said giddily, while giving the others a secretive look.

"Missions already? Maaaaaaaaannn." Kai groaned while leaning back in his chair frustratedly, which earned an eye roll and a light punch in the forearm from Yuu.

"Well no missions as of yet, " Charmy explained after shooting Kummi a look, "but me and Kummi are now part of a three-person strike team with Kona."

"That's the name of the Togruta you just talked with?" Yuu put down her cup while gulping down the rest of its contents. "We never knew her name, she was sort of a lone wolf."

Before Charmy and Kummi could ask further, The intercom in the canteen crackled to life.

' _Rebels Charm'aine Huong and Kummi Zhan, report to Princess Leia's quarters.'_

 _"_ Looks like we have a job to do." Kummi grinned at Charmy, and the two made their way towards the Princess's quarters, UL following after them enthusiastically.

* * *

Both Kona and Leia had to try not to laugh as Charmy and Kummi rushed in hurriedly.

"Charm'aine Huong reporting for duty, ma'am!" Charmy panted and bent over, obviously drained of energy.

"...Yeah, what she said..." Kummi leaned on Charmy in exhaustion. "I think I won the race."

"Wait, I won!" She looked up at Princess Leia and Kona. "Right?"

"It's a draw." Kona deadpanned, looking unamused. "Next time, don't use up all your energy before a mission, even if you could take a rest on the ship."

Leia opened a hologram she put on the table, revealing a 3D schematic. "This will be a rather easy mission for you guys. Your job is to destroy an Imperial power station on Rodia." Zooming into a map of the power station, Leia continued. "The power source is in the center of the station. Once the source is destroyed, it will cause some Imperial bases, including the one on Rodia, to have a massive power blackout, which might slow down the Empire's plans. This power source is slowly draining the resources in Rodia, so it has to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible."

She closed the holomap and gave each rebel a wristband with a circular silver disk with a blue hologram emitter. Then, she gave a tracking device to Charmy.

"These will serve as a communication device and holomap for this mission and the missions thereafter," Kona told the young rebels, just as she was strapping her own device on. The other two examined the device that had just been given to them with great wonder and amazement. "The tracking device that was just given to you is connected to your wristband so you can find him if you two were separated.

"...Thank you, Kona, Your Majesty, " Charmy said, after an apparent lost for words. "We will treasure this chance."

"Then how will we go to Rodia, Your Majesty?" Kummi blurted, after putting on her own device on.

"Follow me." Kona said with an enigmatic grin, then immediately turned to the Princess with a polite bow. "May we, your majesty?"

The Alderaanian Princess nodded at the rebels with a sad smile. "May the Force be with you." Then her smile turned playful. "Kona Rys is full of surprises." And with that her expression sombered again, as she watched the three girls(and one astro droid) leave.

 _And not all the surprises are good._

* * *

 _"_ Where are you taking us to?"

Kummi inquired Kona curiously, feeling slightly impatient. All she and Charmy could see was a dark hallway, illuminated by white lights, showing a high dark gray metallic wall on either side of them.

Just where are they going?

"Eh, we're going to find out soon," Charmy shrugged nonchalantly back at her Mandalorian friend, and Kona looked over her shoulder, her mysterious smile even wider.

"You're going to love it. Oh, we're here, heads up."

Kummi looked up, then her jaw hung open.

Inside the chamber (or rather, ship hangar) was a rather large white dynamic freighter with thick iridescent indigo stripes.

"You're piloting this ship, Kummi," The Togruta put her hand on Kummi's shoulder.

Kummi could hug and kiss Kona right now(Instead she just stood there, beaming ecstatically). The best thing she was expecting to pilot was an X-wing. Piloting a freighter? _When Mustafar freezes into an ice ball,_ she had thought when she was flying here. Yet a freighter was standing before her very eyes. _And she was the **pilot**._

"You might want to move your luggage here after our first mission," Kona stated simply. "The missions after that will become quite frequent."

 _Frequent missions? What about Yuu and Kai?_ Charmy though about her mechanic friends, and couldn't help but worry about how they will feel.

"This baby needs a name," Charmy said instead, a bit halfheartedly.

《How does 'The Australis' sound?》UL suggested.

" 'The Australis' sounds perfect!" Charmy smiled delightedly, patting UL on the head, which made him edge away in embarassment.

"Cool," Kona replied, "I gotta say, your droid has a talent for naming ships. Now get in, the three of you. We have a power station to disable."

Kummi rushed in to see the controls, followed by UL , who was chirping happily at the compliment. Charmy was the last to board the ship, before casting one last wistful look at the dark hallway.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Kona smirked at Kummi, who was inspecting the controls excitedly.

Finally sitting down on the cockpit, Kummi grabbed the controls. "Of course!" She beamed confidently, preparing for takeoff.

Soon, _The Australis_ flew out of the hangar and towards the sky, towards the galaxy.

Toward their very first mission.

* * *

 **Hi readers, old and new!**

 **Wow, one follower already XD I'm flattered! Thank you Flash Unique! ^^**

 **As usual, remeber to fave, follow, and comment!**


	3. The First Mission

**Hello readers old and new, and welcome back to my Star Wars OC story~**

 **Just to inform you, some OCs in this story are not owned by me. Dark side characters, mostly.**

 **Also, please give criticism. If there's anything I can improve, or something I wrote that was Mary-Sue-ish, please tell me in a PM or comment! Thank you so much!^^**

 **Once again, I do not own Star Wars.**

* * *

Spirits were high inside the _Australis_ as it began its descent towards the site of the first mission of the newly minted rebel team. Excited chatters , along with Kona's expaserated sighs, filled the interior of the ship.

As Kummi steered the freighter into Rodia's atmosphere, the radio of the ship crackled to life with static. Kummi frowned, but ignored the annoying sound and continued to drive it towards a landing pad near the city of the swampy planet.

Just then, a robotic voice pierced through the static, and Kummi almost jumped in shock.

"State your purpose, freighter." A Rodian intoned through the speakers and Kummi's eyes widened in fear.

"What is going on?" Charmy walked over to the cockpit with curiosity, and eyes her met Kummi's terrified expression.

"Repeat, state your purpose, freighter!"

"What should I do?" Kummi asked in panic, her eyes nervously darting between the radio and Charmy's face. Charmy simply shrugged, growing anxious herself.

"I'll handle this." Kona said calmly, and leaned over to speak directly over the radio.

"We are tourists, looking to explore your wonderful planet in our own ship," The Togruta then said cheerily, in her brightest,almost sickeningly sweet voice."Would you let us in, dear?"

UL made a barfing noise from behind Charmy, earning a glare from said Pantoran.

"Rich brats." The Rodian snickered under his breath, and stated in a bored voice, "Permission granted." Then, the radio went off.

"Yeah! Going in!" Kummi cheered as the door to the landing pad opened, and prepared to land their ship.

Charmy high-fived her Mandalorian friend, and went back to her seat to prepare for landing, UL following closely behind.

Kona simply smiled as their ship slowly docked on the landing pad.

* * *

"This planet will be the death of me..."

Kummi complained as the four rebels trudged slowly to their destination.

Well, Kummi, Charmy and even UL trudged. Kona walked as confidently as ever, with purpose and courage. The other three looked like they just woke up in the morning, even though they just had lunch. The heat and and humidity of Rodia definitely wasn't helping.

《My circuits are going to overheat...》The astromech droid grumbled.

"This place is basically the opposite of Pantora..." Charmy agreed with her droid. "Is your cooling system working okay, UL?"

《Yeah it is. Though it'll be quite worn out after this mission.》

"Hang in there guys," Kona said, turning towards the other girls. "We're here actually."

She pointed towards the imperial power station standing before them.

The power station was a large, wide building in mostly blacks and greys.

The other's exhaustion instantly vanished at the sight.

"We're doing this. We're actually doing this." Charmy almost grinned, suddenly finding herself overwhelmed by excitement and adrenaline.

UL was so shocked he was practically speechless. Not a bleep came out of his vocals.

"But how do we get past these bucketheads?" Kummi inquired after seconds of awkward silence ,gesturing to the dozens of white-armored stormtroopers guarding the power station vigilantly, each holding a blaster in their hands.

Kona said nothing, and walked towards a seemingly emotionless stormtrooper.

"This area is restricted to commoners, young lady." The stormtrooper almost sneered at the Toguta rebel, who simply smirked widely.

Then she kicked the stormtrooper in the nuts.

The stormtrooper shrieked upon the immense pain, and the other stormtrooper, seeing his colleague lying on the floor, quickly shouted into his comm and ran to notify other stormtroopers of the invasion. While he ran off, Kona beckoned for her teammates to come over.

"Your droid can hack into stuff, can't he?" Kona asked, much to UL's chagrin.

《Your leader literally has zero confidence in me,》UL deadpanned,while heading toward to security pad and plugging in his hacking probe.

Charmy couldn't help but chuckle at UL's antics. "Yeah, he sure can! His name's UL by the way."

"Keep it down! Some citizens are looking at us. And I think the troopers are coming back." Kummi whisper-warned, as she noticed a black-and white mass in the distance."

All eyes were on the sliver and red astromech now.

"Come on UL, you can do this, c'mon..." Charmy encouraged her friend and partner. She had known him long enough to know that he would never fail.

(He never did.)

The other two rebels glanced nervously between the impending monochrome doom and the security pad.

 _Come on, come on..._

The door slid open with a soft 'fwoosh' sound, and the rebels hurried in before it could close.

As the door slid shut, the rebels sighed in relief.

"That sure was close..." Kummi exhaled.

"Come on, guys, the mission is not over yet." Kona urged, and the other three nodded.

There were certainly more dangers ahead of them, that's for sure.

* * *

"All is normal, your majesty."

Aeon Novar simply nodded at the hunched over Rodian at her side, not even bothering to glance at the deplorable creature.

This was simply a necessary imperial amend, and she never understood the Emperor's desires to send her away to do these duties.

Maybe it was the alluring but intimating appearance she had always retained all these years, with her flowing red hair and unusual crown of horns? . Or was it because of the aura she possessed as a political figure with a high postition in the Empire?

Her brisk but quick steps abruptly halted, and her eyes turned to the ceiling of the white and silver halls.

"We are not alone." She stated harshly, glaring at the vents."Show yourself, rebel scum!"

Above the vents, the four rebels froze, exchanging fearful glances.

Kona struggled to remain calm. "She seemed to sense our presence or something. Go-"

A falling sensation cut her off, as they dropped out from their hiding place and onto the crisp white ground.

The red haired woman stared down at them coldly.

"This is what the Rebellion has to offer? Pathetic." She said callously as the ghost of a smile creeped on her face. "Take them away, and wipe that astromech droid."

The stormtroopers nodded, and neutralized all the rebels with sedatives and turned the grey and crimson droid off before carrying them over their shoulders.

 _Wipe that droid._

 _No! NO! NOT UL!_

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO HIM! YOU CAN'T-"

She was injected by a stronger sedative before she could continue, and all she could do was gaze desperately at the still astromech droid in the hands of a stormtrooper who was walking the opposite direction.

* * *

The three rebels awoke in a dark prison cell.

"So much for our first mission," Kummi moaned. "We're locked up, we lost our resident astromech droid, and we are nowhere near to turning this power plant off. We're definitely fucked."

 _UL! NO!_

"Guys, we have to get UL out! He-he's gonna get wiped!" Charmy cried out in desperation.

"Charmy..." Kona smiled bitterly. "When you're a rebel, you have to prepare to make sacrifices to help with the mission."

"You don't understand!" Charmy's voice rose ."He's not just an astromech!He-He's like the brother I never had-"

"I know. I never said we weren't saving him." Kona's smile softened as she put a hand on charmy's shoulder. "He _is_ important to the team, not just because he can hack," The togruta reassured, as a grateful smile spread on Charmy's face. "He's got a lot of personality for an astromech, and I see you and him go way back. We're not gonna let the Empire wipe him."

"But we can't even get ourselves out of this cell, how are we supposed to save UL?"

"Perhaps this can help." Charmy took out a metallic silver handle and ignited it. A solid beam of violet light shot out from the opening of the handle.

Her teammates' jaws almost fell to the floor.

"You have a fricking _lightsaber_?!" Kummi shrieked. "You were a Jedi?!"

"Well, no," Charmy almost laughed at Kummi's expression. "I received it as a birthday present when I was 18. It's just for self defense." A half-smile on her face, she carved a round opening in the heavy metal door with the bright violet blade.

"Let's get out of here then," Kona said rather calmly, though her voice contained barely suppressed joy and relief. "We have a teammate to save and a mission to finish."

 _Wait for me, UL,_ Charmy thought as she opened up her holomap to find her friend's location. _Wait for us._

* * *

He felt himself boot up slowly, like waking from a deep slumber.

Like the first time he met Charmy.

 _"Oh hey! You're awake! Yes ! I did it! oh, sorry about that, I'm Charm'aine,but call me Charmy!Oh, do you have a name?"_

 _《I..I don't remember...》_

 _"Oh, ok then...hmmm...I know! I'll give you a name ! How does U5-L1 sound? UL for short! Oh, that's lame though-"_

 _《No...that sounds cool actually.》_

 _"Oh really?Thanks so much!...Sorry mommy! Coming! Oh, I'll introduce you guys to my new friend later. Wait for me here, UL!"_

The image of Charmy struggling in the hands of a stormtrooper, calling for his name until she was shot with a sedative, and then her sitting in a prison helplessly, waiting for execution, flashed across the astromech's figurative mind.

 _Damn it...Charmy and her friends are so fucked._

 _I'm fucked too. The chances of escaping is approximately 10%or less._

 _Well...I'll have to try. After all, it's not impossible._

Using his electric prod as a sort of torch, he looking around him, to see nothing but the dark grey walls of a storage box-a prison for astromech droids.

 _Let's see if I can electrify this thing open..._

He activated his device. The plastic surface of the storage box melted instantly upon contact with the white sparks emitting from the astro droid's weapon.

(That was always how UL saw his prod, as a weapon, a tool of self defense.)

(It was proof that he didn't always need Charmy to save his metal ass.)

With an all-too-faint whirr that stormtroopers couldn't hear, The rebel astromech hovered out of the dark space of the box, and rushed as fast he could get towards the crisp white door, and slammed his hacking probe onto the cold numbered security pad.

Stormtroopers started firing stun shots at him, but he had put up his photon shield, and the shots harmlessly fizzled off the holographic scarlet hexagons in small blue and white flashes.

UL quickly finished hacking the door, and zoomed out of the room, into the icy white and ash gray hallway, swiftly opening the map of the station in his mental system, blocking the shots of the advancing white-armed soldiers.

Then, a stormtrooper shot down the top of his shield generator.

 _shit_

 _no_

 _Charmy_

With another flash, he fell into unconsciousness once more.

* * *

"This way, guys!"

Kona urged her teammates while glancing at the holographic map projected above her wrist to affirm their location, as they raced to save their droid ally. Though the Togruta never understood Charmy's close relationship with the astromech.

But, to be honest, she really never understood the point of any close relationship.

She was told to led this strike team of rebels. And she willingly accepted, becaused she wanted to help the newbies around, and let them experience the thrill and adredaline of being a rebel.

 _While they can._

"Uh...Kona,I think you went the wrong way...are you...?"

The female Togruta realized she was carried away by her thoughts.

 _Again._

She clenched her fists, her short nails biting into her callused palms.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about something else for a moment. It's nothing." She turned to her teammates with a nonchalant smile and a casual shrug, something she had mastered over the years.

She turned her back to her teammates, running towards the correct direction to the room in which their ally was in.

Though she wasn't facing them, she could hear Charmy and Kummi's whispers of _pity._

 _Pity_ for her weakness, _Pity_ for her mistake, _Pity_ for her failure.

Their voices were mocking her, although she knew they weren't.

What she knew was one thing.

What she felt was another thing altogether.

* * *

Charmy's purple blade slashed in agitation through the dull gray door, to see several stormtroopers lowering a snakelike wire onto UL's top with the droid screaming out beeps of protest. All Charmy could make out was along the lines of 《SCREW YOU》and 《Please, no...》

The rebels immediately caught the stormtroopers' attention. Before the they could pull out their weapons, they were shot by Kummi and Kona's laser blasts.

Amdist the chaos, Charmy sheathed her saber and ran towards the grey and red astromech.

"UL!" She cried, hugging the droid tightly. "Are you okay bro?! Did they do anything to you!?"

《Who are you?》UL let out in a monotone voice.

"Oh no...I was too late..."Charmy clapped a hand to her mouth, and looked like as if she was about to cry. It couldn't be...

The astromech's electronic laughter interrupted her thoughts.

《I was just joking, sis!》UL bleeped in extreme amusement. 《I'd never let them. And did they do anything to _you_?!》

"Never do that again! " Charmy mock-scolded in expaseration and relief, then started twirling around the room in pure delight, laughing ecstatically.

"Uh, not to interrupt your reunion," Kummi piped up, her voice strained with effort. But we need a little help here..." She slowly backed away as she fought off the stormtroopers at the door. Charmy blushed with embarrassment.

"Right. Sorry..." She whispered, and ignited her bright violet blade. "You ready, UL...wait, is you shield generator destroyed?!" She almost screamed as she set her eyes on the burned black spot on UL's top where his shield generator was.

《Yeah...I'll explain later. Anyway, I'm rea-》The astromech was interrupted by a blue hand spread across his dome.

Charmy sighed."Stay back and use your sniping blaster then. I'll fix the generator for you when we get back." She then grinned at her friend and charged at the stormtroopers. UL hovered higher and shot white-hot laser shots at the stormtrooper's backs. When a stormtrooper tried to shoot at UL, he dodged with ease.

Kona and Kummi continued shooting without any moments of hesitation.

They had to get to the core of the generator-and fast.

Before that red-haired imperial can get to them.

* * *

 **Alright! That's the end of the third chapter! I'm sorry for updating so late, life got in the way ^^'**

 **Don't forget to review, follow or comment! Thanks for reading and stay tuned to the next chapter!^^**


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